It’s terrible to say, but after I take some time off, I wish I hadn’t because it’s so hard to get back into the routine of things. I imagine that’s not really healthy.
I would like to think a vacation is an extended Sunday strung together in consecutive days. A time to rest, reflect and rejuvenate.
Often, it doesn’t end up that way. I’ve had it go either way: One is trying to make up for lost time I didn’t have while working, so I work feverishly trying to catch up in areas of my life, only to feel overwhelmed. Or I come so far off the rails that when my vacation is over, I feel like I’ve lost all of my momentum.
It benefits me to plan ahead and think about what I’d like to get out of my time off. Most certainly it’s important to back off the throttle and give ourselves time to rest with a whole lot of “down time”. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish what interests us – as I’ve found vacations a wonderful time to daydream.
In fact, I’ve had some really wonderful ideas come to me because I was able to create space between myself and my work.
We don’t have to get too militaristic with our time to chill, but going in with a vague outline of what our expectations are couldn’t hurt.
First item on the vacation to do list: Do nothing
Enjoy. Relax. Daydream. And of course smile.